Trends for 2027: survey insights

Before the update, the program team had conducted a comprehensive market research that included multiple stages: in-depth interviews with the leaders of product and design teams at domestic tech companies, hiring managers, and design studio heads; an expert opinion analysis; and a study of current job offers, global industry insights, and educational practices at top universities. The collected data was used to develop a custom competence matrix for the program – a model that defines which competencies will be in demand for digital product specialists in the future and how they should be trained.

One of the survey’s key takeaways was that employers no longer see Figma skills as a standalone specialization. Instead, modern designers need to understand users and business problems and know how to analyze data, design interaction scenarios, create product concepts, and work with strategies, prototypes, code, and AI tools, say respondents.

Therefore, the core focus of the program is to help designers shift from being responsible for single tasks to becoming specialists who can drive product growth and provide massive value to their teams and employers.

“For this program, we defined a set of competences that will allow designers to perform different product roles, even if the actual job titles will change in two years. Among the core skills are system thinking, user research, communication with colleagues and clients, and a business- and product-focused mindset. At the same time, no less important are AI skills, responsibility, independence, analytical and critical thinking, UX/UI, and experience design in Figma and other tools,” says Ekaterina Panova, the design lead at SberInvestments and the academic director of the Design and Development of Digital Products Master’s program at ITMO.

AI is a basic tool that doesn’t replace professional thinking

AI technologies will be integrated in various courses – from design and research to web coding and prototyping. However, the core focus won’t be on teaching students to fast-generate images, texts, and interfaces. 

In the near future, AI skills will become a core skill rather than a differentiator. What employers will value the most is a specialist’s ability to formulate tasks correctly, evaluate outcomes, make decisions, and use technologies to advance their skills. For that reason, the program will provide fundamental education in design, composition, art, as well as user behavior and perception. This way, students will be trained to understand logic behind solutions, adapt to new technologies, and come up with their own approaches – instead of replicating what’s been done before.

Career prospects

Although narrow design specializations won’t go anywhere, the market will be particularly looking for those who can view a product, a business, and user experience as a single system.

The program will offer three core educational paths.

System designers will deal with complex digital and industrial systems, a large number of intertwined processes, and user scenarios.

Visual and concept designers will develop ideas, visual concepts, and quality interfaces. Key qualities in these roles will be a well-trained eye, general erudition, and a great grasp of art and visual culture.

Design strategists will study product development, design and business tasks, and long-term strategies for products and companies.

In the program, students will first gain an interdisciplinary background; then, they’ll be able to choose a specialization that aligns with their future career goals.
 

Training details

The program is based on the competency matrix, which outlines the core skills for tomorrow’s specialists: design, UR/UX, analysis, product strategy, web coding, AI, and more.

As part of the curriculum, students will train these competencies not separately, but step-by-step during project work – from formulating a problem and testing a hypothesis to creating a prototype and justifying a solution from business and user perspectives. The courses are connected and help students develop skills progressively.

Each semester, students will be able to add a new level to their professional systems, from design fundamentals to research, analysis, strategies, coding, or AI. In the third semester, they can select a specialization they would like to pursue in the future.

The program involves practicing experts who work on digital products at major tech companies; among them are design directors and leads, UX researchers, product leads, and UX experts from Yandex, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, VK, Skillbox, BCS, Raiffeisenbank, and others.

Apart from teaching, they will also conduct workshops, analyze business cases, review student projects, and attend defenses to provide industry feedback.
 

Not a single role, but an ability to develop digital products

The program aims to train specialists with a strong design background who can work at the intersection of several fields, adapt to market changes, and take responsibility for both product interface and growth.

Graduates of the program will be able to join product teams at tech companies, banks, ecosystems, industrial corporations, design studios, research centers, and startups.

At tech companies, graduates will be competent to study user needs, design scenarios, develop visual concepts, build prototypes, and test hypotheses together with developers and analysts.

Those who will opt for banks, marketplaces, and large-scale digital ecosystems will be able to review user journeys, identify challenges, combine business and user needs, and then propose corresponding changes to interfaces and services.

For industrial companies, graduates will design complex systems for employees and clients: workspaces, analytical dashboards, production management systems, and digital tools that integrate multiple processes and departments.

At startups, they could conduct research, formulate product hypotheses, build prototypes, and test them on users and with the team to figure out further strategy. 

Graduates can also join design studios and agencies where they will design visual and product concepts for different clients, as well as work with product branding, interfaces, animations, and new interaction formats.

Moreover, graduates can opt to pursue product or design strategies; they can analyze the market and user behavior, search for new product opportunities, formulate development principles, and determine solutions that will benefit companies in the coming years.

How to apply

Design and Development of Digital Products is a two-year full-time Master’s program in Russian at ITMO. Classes are delivered remotely: theoretical materials are available in the university’s digital environment, while lectures and practical assignments are conducted in real-time with lecturers. In 2026, the program offers 80 fee-based positions; the annual tuition fee amounts to 580,000 rubles – or 610,000 rubles for international students.

Applicants can join the program by passing the online entrance exam. To sign up for the examination, your first step is to register on ITMO’s admissions website, submit your documents, and select “entrance exam” as your enrollment option. Alternatively, you can score maximum points for olympiads or contests (e.g., I Am a Professional contest); note that they should meet the admission requirements for the chosen program. 

Applications for the Portfolio contest are open until July 31, 2026. Entrance exams are held online; applicants can find the schedule and deadlines on the program’s page or in their personal account on the admissions website.